Historical repetativeness
by westernbeauty
Summary: When a face from Felicity's past raises his ugly head she reveals the reason for her dislike of Hospitals.
1. Chapter 1

Felicity pushed off her shoes and simultaneously flexed her toes rhythmically under the desk whilst rubbing the back of her neck, trying to untie the knot that burned and tugged every time she moved. Last night had been long and stressful and being back at the office since seven am to prep for the meetings later that day she was feeling the strain. Eyeing Oliver throughout the glass dividing their offices she knew he was feeling it too. When his eyes met hers, having probably felt the hole that her glare was boring into him, she mimed bringing a coffee cup to her lips. He nodded in reply holding up four fingers indicating the number of Vanilla shots he required. Felicity smirked knowing that she would benefit from his sugar rush as he worked extra hard to burn it off on the salmon ladder later that night. Acknowledging his response she grabbed her purse made her way to the private elevator; on a mission to Starbucks.

When the elevator doors closed Oliver pulled out his phone and tapped a text to Diggle knowing he would be on his way to QC to portray his role as Bodyguard/Driver to Starlings most eligible Billionaire.

_Felicity on Coffee run, Starbucks_

Most people would have read the message as Oliver letting him know if he wanted Coffee, Felicity was on her way to Starbucks. Diggle read it however the way it was intended; a request to keep her safe. Oliver relaxed his shoulders and turned his attention back to his paperwork as the reply came through

_On it._

As Felicity skittered across the main lobby she slid to stop visibly swallowing at the sight before her. No way, absolutely no way he was here she told herself. She watched on as he flirted with the girl on the front desk as he explained that he was the new head of the Applied sciences department. Felicity wanted to scream as Becky behind the desk placed her hand on his forearm, obviously flirting in response as she giggled at a remark he made about the picture on his id key card. Becky offered him directions to his new office and as he took her hand in his to kiss it in thanks, Felicity had to stop herself from throwing up all over the marbled floor. The effort she mustered to withstand the need to vomit left her forgetting the purse in her hand. As it fell to the floor she cursed as the bottle of perfume inside clunked and echoed as it hit the floor, watching mortified as the contents of her bag spilled out for everyone to see. As she scrambled to pick it all up she felt a towering form kneel down in front of her.

"Need a hand?"

His voice cut through her like nails on blackboard, white noise filtered in and she struggled to hold it together. Trying as hard as she could to keep an air of professionalism about her she stifled the need to lash out and uttered a simple 'no thanks' as she gathered the remaining items and clambered back to her feet. When her eyes met his, a smile erupted across his face and right then she prayed there was a an arrow pointed at his head.

"Flick?, Flick Smoak?, it's me Jed Clark"

Felicity faked a smile. What an asshole?, did he really think she would have forgotten him. All she could concentrate on was the fact that her breathing was shallow and she knew if she didn't escape soon she'd have a full on panic attack in the middle of Queens consolidated and would ever live it down. Her inner voice kept begging her to say something, anything and so she counted to three and relented

"What the hell are you doing here?" she growled trying to hide the anger that laced her voice.

"I'm the new head of Applied Sciences" He look at the key card pinned to her lapel and scoffed "Wow EA to _The_ Oliver Queen Huh?_"_

She knew what he was insinuating and could feel herself flushing at the accusation. As she clenched her fists, slowly forming an appropriate response she saw Diggle striding across the lobby towards her with purpose. She relaxed unclenching her fists and the instant he was behind her she stepped back into him letting him know that she was in desperate need of his intervention. Placing his left hand on the small of her back he leant forwards and with his right shook Jeds hand squeezing it harder than was socially acceptable.

"John Diggle, Can I help you"

Felicity noticed the the way Jed flinched when Diggle shook his hand and showing her gratitude she reached a hand behind her placing it across Diggle's wrist. Diggle stepped backwards and folded his arms making sure Jed got an eyeful of the muscles that threatened to split the seam of his suit.

"Jed Clark, Flick and I go way back, Anyways I better go, don't want to be late for my first day on the job. Great to see you Flick, maybe we can grab a coffee some time?"

Felicity stood silent, utterly shocked by the audacity of the son of a bitch. Did he seriously just ask her out? Diggle sensing the tension that ebbed between them shifted forward in Jed's direction making Jed turn on his heels and hurry off towards the elevators.

Feeling her breathing becoming more and more erratic and her vision beginning to cloud, Felicity hurried to the revolving doors without looking back constantly repeating the mantra 'Four shots, four shots'


	2. Chapter 2

**My dear followers. Sorry for the delay. I hope it was worth the wait. I love reading your reviews and welcome any prompts or ideas. Enjoyxx**

* * *

When Felicity reached the door of Starbucks she pushed it open with a little more force than was required causing it to swing open into the face of a fellow customer. The Door narrowly missed the cups in his hand, the draft that was created making them wobble in the cup holder. As the suit scurried past her clutching his coffee for dear life he muttered "Watch it lady"

"Sorry, I'm so sorry" Felicity offered apologetically, trying desperately to keep herself together. Taking a deep breath and counting ten she approached the counter and placed her order. Sensing a presence behind her she stiffened, all feeling of security and safety having been pulled from under her by a face from her past. As she contemplated raising an elbow to the face behind her, a familiar hand hovered over her shoulder offering twenty dollars to the Barista.

Felicity huffed at Diggle, taking the anger she felt towards herself for being so affected by Jed's appearance, and directing it at him. Listening to the calming noise of the pressurised steam bubbling through the milk, Felicity moved along leaning against the counter awaiting Diggle's interrogation.

"Four shots huh? Is he having a bad day?" Diggle enquired, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Felicity did a double take, a little dazed by the fact that Diggle was plainly ignoring the Jed sized elephant in the room. She raised an eyebrow but remained silent; concentrating only on the Barista getting the orders right, caffeine was all that mattered.

As they made their way along the sidewalk back to QC, Diggle strategically took the coffee cup from Felicity's hand and sat it in the cup holder alongside his and Oliver's, earning a look from her of pure evil. He debated asking about her earlier run in with Jed and he wasn't going to take the risk that she would use her coffee as a weapon against him.

"So are you going to tell me what that was all about about?"

Felicity kept her eyes averted to the clicking of her heels against the roughness of the concrete beneath her as she answered Diggle with 'nope',to which she earned a signature Diggle brow raising.

"I'm fine Dig, or at least I will be. This isn't something that can be fixed with muscle and Arrows."

Diggle nodded, placed his hand on the curve of her back, lowered his voice and said "Ok, but you want me to pay him a visit just say the word"

* * *

The elevator ride back to the office was quietly uncomfortable. Felicity sensed Diggle's gaze on her as the shuddering of the elevator shaft caused her shoulder to rub against the girth of his bicep. Whilst Clutching her coffee so as not to spill it she silently cursed him for the intensity of his glare, clearly assessing her mental state as he towered over her.

As she opened her mouth to berate him the doors flew open, the sight before her causing the coffee to waiver in her hand as her knees weakened beneath her. Diggle instinctively placed his free hand on the small of her back to steady her before grabbing the cup from her hands and setting it on her desk.

Turning himself so that Felicity was shielded from the sight of Jeremy in Oliver's Office, Diggle rested himself on the edge of her desk folding his arms and flexing so hard that the seams pulled on his shirt. Felicity tried to focus on this and not the person he was shielding her from. She drew a breath to try and alleviate the sting in her cheeks as the anger, hurt, betrayal and fear bubbled up inside her. The flurry of emotions stifled her ability to breath and Diggle sensed this reaching out and rubbing his large and gentle hands from her shoulders to her elbows. Felicity managed an uptick of her lips in attempt to relieve his suspicion that she was far from okay and retrieved her coffee in attempt to appear nonchalant. Diggle, reading the situation shifted and dug his car keys from his pocket and handed them to Felicity requesting that she go to the car to retrieve his phone.

Raising an eyebrow Felicity accepted the keys "You left your phone in the car? Seriously you expect me to believe that? You do know I Can track it on my tablet?"

Diggle didn't respond the look on his face was answer enough and whilst she was highly grateful for his attempt to excuse her from the area she turned on her heels and with a flick of her ponytail huffed her away back to the elevator.

When the door separating Oliver and Felicity's office opened seconds later Diggle pulled his cup away from his mouth and stood to turn and face the man that had Felicity shaken in a way that made him feel wholly uncomfortable.

"Nice meeting you Mr Clark" Oliver offered as he shook Jeremy hands and escorted him out of his office, his CEO smile plastered shamefully across his chiseled jaw. When they reached Diggle, Oliver stopped to undertake the necessary introductions. "Mr Clark, This is my Head of Security Mr Diggle, Dig this is Mr Clark my New Head of Applied Sciences"

Jeremy reached out for Diggs hand to bond them into some Manly handshake but Diggle remained arms crossed and feet apart appearing as menacing as possible "Yeah we already met"

Jeremy awkwardly pulled his arm back to his side trying to hide the fear and embarrassment that he was emanating like a bad odour. " Ok well thank you Mr Queen" He forced nervously, and giving Dig a very wide berth made his way back to safety of the elevator.

When they were alone Oliver took his four shot Vanilla Latte and headed back to his Office with Diggle in tow. Allowing the warm sweet nectar to slide its way down his throat, giving him the burst of sugar he needed, he shot Diggle a look, a unspoken a request to explain what had just happened. Diggle remained detached resulting in Oliver verbalising his request, with a slight uptick of his lips, almost stretching, but not quite into a smile "You want to explain why you had my new head of Applied Sciences trembling at the very sight you?"

Diggle took a breath, composed his thoughts and knowing however he approached this Oliver would be on the offensive he told him the truth "He was harassing our Girl this morning in the lobby downstairs"

Oliver's demeanor shifted, his jaw hardened and his fingers began rolling an invisible arrow between them. Oliver remained quiet, and simply raised an eyebrow, waiting for Diggle to continue. "She wasn't too happy to see him, apparently they know each other from MIT but that's all I know. I tried talking to her about it but, well you know Felicity"

Oliver nodded "Ex-Boyfriend?" he enquired waiting for Diggle's reaction. Diggle shook his head "Maybe. No, I don't think so, something seemed off. It was like she was scared of this Guy Oliver"

In an attempt to center himself Oliver turned his attention to the pane of glass separating the two offices expecting to a see a comforting sea of blonde curls. When he was met with the sight of her empty chair his heart dropped and his instincts sharpened as the persona of the Hood consumed him. He had been highly aware as he'd faked interest in his new Head of Department, of the exchange that had taken place between his two friends. Oliver had taken it upon himself while nodding politely to assess every detail no matter how insignificant or minute; a skill he had honed during his time on the island and used to great effect in the mission to keep himself alive. He'd watched the keys to the Bentley change hands and had mentally noted the chips in her violet nail polish that earlier that morning had been unblemished. He had notedly flinched as he watched her skitter her way back to confines of the private elevator leaving her vanilla mocha to go cold.

Oliver knew from meticulous calculations the time taken from each of their meeting points across the city. The mansion to the foundry, the foundry to QC, QC to Felicity's townhouse and all the those in between. He also knew that it took three minutes to get to the parking garage from his office, three minutes back, and an additional few minutes for her to complete whatever task she had undertaken. As Oliver consulted his five hundred dollar Rolex he knew that by now he should be seeing his centre of gravity sat back at her desk in front of him. All it took was one glance in Diggle's direction and one back towards her desk to have them both heading in the direction of the parking garage in pursuit of their IT girl.


	3. Chapter 3

Felicity mumbled tirelessly to herself the entire elevator ride down to the basement. "I mean really, as if he has actually left his phone in the Car, I mean I know he was trying to do me a favour, but really, make it believable"

She had no idea who she was actually talking to but somehow chattering away to no one in particular brought a calming effect upon her. As she spotted the Bentley at the far corner of the garage she breathed a sigh of contentedness at the familiar sight before her and pulled her cardigan closed crossing her arms to block out the cold and damp of the bottom floor of the building. The feeling of serenity that Felicity had found to centre herself was quickly swept from under her by the calling of her name to her far left. She didn't turn, she didn't need to. The voice was one that had haunted her for five long years. Pretending as though she had not heard anything she continued on her quest for Diggles' phone, blond ponytail swishing with purpose, but she wasn't quick enough and as she saw he tall shady figure appear in her peripheral vision she let out an 'eep' sound before turning to face her demons. Jed stood a little closer to her than she found comfortable and as he spoke she slowly stepped backwards two steps in pursuit of the safe haven of the car.

"Hey Jed, w.. are you doing down here?" Felicty uttered, trying her very hardest to compose herself and appear aloof.

Jed gestured to the tie that hung loosely round his neck and then to the one in his hands "I stupidly spilled my coffee and well I had a clean tie in the car so."

"Oh, well wasn't that a pure Stroke of Luck" Felicity choked out nervously, pulling her lips into a tight smile while consciously taking another step backwards.

"We should grab a coffee. After work maybe?" Jed offered. His voice thick with charm, making Felicity wretch even more than she would have initially at the invitation.

"I uh can't, I have to go do…..something, probably wash my hair or you know, my dogs hair, If I had a dog, which...I...don't"

Felicity turned to retreat, but a heavy hand weighing down on her wrist pulled her back to within inches of the man who taught her how to hate.

"I want to see her" Jed offered pathetically, his voice no more than whisper.

"What? I, don't know what you're talking about?" Felicity whimpered as she fumbled for the automatic lock on the key-ring in her hand. Jed's hands found their way to her upper arms and he squeezed them tightly to keep her from running. Felicity could feel her airways restricting at the feel of his touch, her mind flashing back to their encounter five years ago. She fought at the sobs that threatened to consume her and with all her strength she tried to pull away, but Jed's grip on her would not relent.

"You lied to me Felicity I want to see her" His eyes darkened and as he spoke and his voice echoed with a wave of terror throughout the basement leaving Felicity's throat dry with fear. Felicity swallowed past the lump that had formed in her throat and stood a little straighter. Ignoring his request she averted his gaze, and looked to the security camera in the corner.

"You know you're on camera right now Jed, my friend that you met earlier will be here any second and you do not want to piss him off"

All it took was one quick glance from Jed as he followed her gaze to the camera to give Felicity enough of a distraction to catch him off guard. Raising her knee with all the force she could muster and ploughing it between his legs bought her enough time to jump into the Bently and lock the door behind her.

* * *

With a heightened sense of focus both men entered the parking garage taking stock of their surroundings, being careful to keep checking the area behind them as they moved forward. With his gun drawn and ready, Diggle made his way to the Bentley while Oliver widened their search checking between nearby Vehicles.

"FELICITY"

As Diggle flicked off the safety, he noticed a shadow move behind the blacked out window of the back of the Queens Car. Catching Oliver's attention, Diggle gestured with a dip of his head alerting Oliver to his discovery, and carefully bending down he removed the pistol from his ankle holster and slid it across the floor in Oliver's direction. Oliver skilfully retrieved the gun and began to close the distance between them. Once they were either side of the Car, Diggle outwardly counted to three before pulling the door ajar and shouting for the occupant to throw their hands in the air, before quickly withdrawing his weapon at the sight of Felicity cowering between the seats on the floor of the car.

Oliver carefully tucked the handgun into the waistband of his trousers before offering Felicity a hand which she graciously took allowing him to pull her out of the car and to her feet with such force that she collided with the hard planes of his chest. He immediately brought his arm protectively around her placing a kiss upon her head.

Oliver raised his trembling hands to either side of her face, pushing her hair aside checking for any obvious injuries, before pulling her back into him and enveloping her within his arms. Taking full note of the bruising that was starting to form on her upper arms and her cheeks that were stained by the drying of fallen tears, he held her tightly and buried his face into her hair so he could inhale her scent, taking comfort in the fact she was on the whole unhurt. He didn't have to ask if she was okay she instantly replied as though on some unspoken level they had already communicated and she continued the conversation out loud "I'm ok, really" Before heading back towards the sanctuary of Oliver's private office.

* * *

When Oliver reached the glass door that separated their offices he could see Felicity had made her way over to the floor to ceiling windows at the far end of the office and was preparing herself for the grilling she knew was inevitable. Felicity jumped at the opening of the door, despite expecting it, her nervous disposition not lost on Oliver who remained silent and perched himself against the edge of the large conference table. With her arms crossed and legs wobbling beneath her she turned to face the music "I'm Sorry" was all she could muster. Oliver pushed up off the table and took a step to narrow the distance between them

"Sorry?, why are you sorry?"

"Because I know you're worried and you want an explanation but this is one part of my life that you don't get to ask me about" She replied with conviction. "You and Diggle will just have to accept that" she added as she gestured to Diggle who was sat at her desk playing with her Tablet. "Speaking of Diggle what's he doing?"

Oliver turned to see what Diggle was actually doing before responding "Oh, he's deleting the camera footage from the parking garage"

Feleicty broke out in a smile, proud that some of her hacking ability had rubbed off on Diggle in the last two and half years. The smile quickly faded when Oliver reproached the topic of conversation that was not to be discussed.

"Did Jed hurt you?" Oliver asked calmly, yet in a voice that was reminiscent of the Arrow, whilst concentrating on the bruising on her arms.

"How did you?" Felicity gasped not quite finishing her sentence and then realising that Diggle must have clued him in. "No, i'm fine" She quickly added rubbing her arms.

"Fel-ic-it-y, he had you cowering in the back of the Bentley" Oliver insisted, rolling his thumb and forefinger agitatedly. This was enough to have her near breaking point and turning away from him to hide her fragility. After a brief silence Oliver closed the distance between them, his chest now flush with her back, placing his hands on her shoulders that had started to shake. He was surprised when one of her hands arched up to touch his as an act of thanks, but she said nothing.

"Felicity, please talk to me"

Felicity turned to face him her face red with anger. "How can I Oliver? after our date last week you already have one metaphorical foot out the door."

Oliver took a step a back dumbfounded by her matter of fact statement, He knew things had been strained between them and strictly speaking they were well overdue a conversation. The selfish side of him wanted to hold her and tell her loved her, kiss her and take her bed, but the other side of him, the voice of reason was forcing him to accept the events of their first date and let her go to keep her safe.

"Felicity I need you to be safe. When I met you and let you in, My mission to save this city suddenly wasn't the most important thing to me, keeping you safe was. Last week has made me question whether I can be with you and still keep you from being hurt"

Biting her bottom lip to stop her from giving into the overwhelming need to cry she took a slow, controlled breath and asked the question she wasn't sure she was ready to hear the answer to. "Can you?" Because Oliver I'm willing to take the risk if you are" As Felicity waited with bated breath, any form of composure began to slowly slip away and her silent tears threaten to become a sob. The silence that shrouded her as Oliver's eyes bored into her soul caused her chest to burn with fear and anticipation. As she lowered her gaze to prepare herself for the walk out of his office she felt Oliver moving closer to her. When she saw his shoe enter her line of vision her head was tilted by the strength of his index finger and before she had the chance to speak his lips were on hers.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Hey there peeps, I'm really sorry about the gap between posting the last two chapters...Life! Whatcha gonna do eh? It's really tricky trying to fit in this writing when I've a 40 hour work week and the bringing up of small children to do. My poor hubby is getting neglected for your enjoyment...lol so enjoy. I'm so honoured by all the reviews and favourites...makes a girl happy. so thanks x**

His lips pressed against hers with fervor and his hands pressed sensuously against both sides of her face. Felicity found herself giving in and buckling against the torrid of emotions; from Elation to down right horny, so she begrudgingly pulled away allowing him to keep hold of her as she fought to catch her breath. Oliver remained pressed against her not completely unaware of Diggle's presence in adjoining office. Felicity was the first to speak "Do you think he saw us?"

"I don't think so" Oliver offered reassuringly, positive by the smirk Diggle was sending in his direction that he had been watching the entire time. Doing his best to ignore Diggle who was now sat with his arms crossed enjoying the display, he concentrated on brushing his right thumb gently upon the side of her face, his lips only inches from hers. He could still see how swollen they were and wanted nothing more than to taste her again. "Felicity, If you are willing to take the risk then so am I"

Felicity pushed herself up on to her tiptoes and tugged him towards her by pulling on his tie, before kissing him with as much intensity as he had her. It was Oliver that broke the kiss this time, his forehead resting on hers as he rubbed small circles on her lower back.

"Felicity, There is nothing that you could tell me that would change how much I love you." Oliver searched for her understanding and she gave it to him in the form of a nod. Wiping a tear from behind her lenses she pressed a small featherlight kiss upon his lips before whispering "Thank you" into his ear. Oliver watched her intently as she consciously took a step backwards so she could gain some perspective.

"Oliver I'll talk to you I promise but there is something I need to do first, can I take the rest of the day off? I'll meet you at the foundry later."

Oliver considered Felicity for a moment wanting desperately for her to open up and trust him, but he knew above all else that he trusted that she was good to her word, they would do this in her own time and on her own terms. He nodded chivalrously "of course" before pulling her closer and pressing hips lips to her forehead.

As Oliver watched Felicity leave the confines of the office his gaze met Diggle's and an unspoken stream of communication passed between them. Diggle grabbed his jacket making his way to follow Felicity at a safe distance so not to be seen.

* * *

Diggle had on several occasions been called upon for Recon. With Oliver's nightly activities, recon had become a regular occurrence but this felt a world apart from the usual dregs of society that were normally the target. He couldn't help the tug on his conscience and the feeling of guilt that washed over him as he followed Felicity's little red mini through the streets of Starling and kept telling himself he was only keeping her safe even though she would probably see it as a betrayal of trust. When she made a right at the second stop sign it suddenly dawned on him where she might be going, his suspicions confirmed as she pulled up outside his building. When Felicity emerged half an hour later with Izzy in toe, Diggle found himself bewildered by the turn of events. Why was she taking out his daughter? He didn't mind, Felicity usually took Izzy out once a week to give Lyla a rest, but this was unscheduled and unexpected. Maybe after this morning she'd had she needed a a break and who better to spend her time with then Izzy, he thought to himself. After all Izzy was insanely cute, and always made him feel better after a heavy day. He watched with complete admiration as Felicity carefully strapped in Izzy's car seat and proceeded to check it's security three times before driving off in the direction of Central City.

After a solid 25 minutes drive they reached the outskirts of Starling City where Felicity pulled up near a children's park. A little far to drive for a children's playground Diggle pondered, however reclined his seat from across the road and watched patiently while Felicity and his daughter enjoyed their outing

Felicity placed Izzy into the sand pit and removed her pumps, taking up a seat beside her god daughter. "You know Isabella, I am going to protect you from everything, I am never going to let anyone hurt you. You are so lucky you have so many people around you that love you with everything they have, and you have no idea." Felicty picked up a handful of the sand before sprinkling it down into Izzy's palm eliciting an eruption of giggles from the babbling girl. With one eye fixed on Izzy she found her other wondering to a brown curled girl on the other side of the park, watching intently as the little girl played.

* * *

When Felicity found herself in the foundry later that afternoon the usual serenity she found there, sat behind her screens was hastened by the confession looming over her. She knew she had to bare all, but the idea that Oliver and Diggle would think less of her, consumed her thoughts entirely. As she bounced Izzy up and down on her knee singing gleefully out of tune, Diggle appeared gym clad and ready to spar. Bending forward to caress his daughter he addressed Felicity. "Oliver not here yet?"

"Yes I am" Came the reply from the stairs. "Sorry investors meeting, felt like it was ne-ver gonna end"

Felicity caught his gaze and with look of pure guilt she began to speak "Sorry, I should have been there"

Oliver made his way in her direction and after brushing Izzys cheek in form of a greeting he placed his kiss on Felicity's, whispering "No you shouldn't have. Its fine"

The feeling of his Breath filtering through into her ear and the words with it sent her heart soaring, giving the slightest bit of confidence she needed in that moment. As she internally began to muster up the rest of the self-assurance she needed Diggle cleared his throat and bent forward to retrieve his daughter who jumped excitedly towards him "We'll give you two a moment"

Felicity reached out taking a grip on his hugely oversized bicep.. "No, it's ok, you should hear this too, from me. I owe you that"

Diggle nodded and leant against the workbench next to Oliver, squirming baby in tow. After a few seconds with her daddy, Izzy settled and curled up into the crook of his neck, eyes droopy. Felicity took this as her cue to begin. With her mouth poised open to speak, she fiddled with the hem of her peplum dress and stood nervously allowing her to put some much needed distance between her and the most important men in her life. As Felicity tried to force the words from her mouth all that left it was a strangled noise that had had Oliver rasing from his position at the workbench. Felicity held her hand up in a gesture to stop him and he sat back against the bench she cleared her throat.

"We met 2009 at MIT." Felicity rubbed the back of her neck and hesitantly continued "My Friend at the time; Martha, she wanted to go to this Alpha Kappa Frat Party. I had a midterm the next day so I told her I didn't want to go but she kept on about how she was so desperate to go because there was this guy that was going to be there. Anyway I went along just to shut her up" Felicity let out a small huff of exasperation that bordered on a laugh, before she continued. "Not more than five minutes after we got there she ditched me like a hot potato. Anyway Jed started hanging around me like a bad smell, I couldn't shift him. He kept trying to talk to me and when I blew him off I could feel his eyes on me from the across the room" Felicity closed her eyes and took a step backwards every word she spoke becoming more laden with emotion than the last. "The Next thing I remember was waking up with him on top of me" She let go of the sob that was pushing its way up her throat watching intently for Oliver's reaction upon hearing the last words tumble from her mouth. He swiftly reached for his bow and quiver from its resting place in the glass case only hesitating at the sound of Felicity's footsteps as she hurried towards him.

"Oliver NO!"

Oliver stilled his eyes refusing to meet hers as his alter ego consumed him.

"He has to pay Fe-lic-it-y" he Growled.

She shot a glance to Diggle whose face was ridden with Anger, hurt, and enormous amounts of restraint. He nodded, signalling that he was in agreement with Oliver whilst painfully hugging his daughter just that little bit tighter. Felicity rested her hand on Oliver's upper arm, shuddering as sobs continued to overcome her.

"Oliver. Not for me. Never for me" Felicity Pleaded. Oliver stood, seemingly unmoved by her statement. She raised her hand to his face, his gaze on the wall behind her. "You promised this wouldn't change anything" Felicity whimpered, seeking reassurance. The vacant look of a killer slipped away but with his bow still in his hand he reached for her. His other hand let go of his quiver and poised itself on the cusp of her hairline as his blue orbs bored into her soul.

"I Love you" he whispered so quietly that only she could her it "But he has to Pay"

With her eyes still locked on his, Felicity wrapped her slender fingers around his bow and channelled all her weight, attempting to pry the bow away from him

"He Will. But not Like this"


	5. Chapter 5

Oliver and Felicity remained poised, face to face, both their hands clutching at his bow. Felicity met his fierce eyes with her own, begging him to not kill for her. Oliver lowered his lips down to hers and loosening his grip on his bow, he huskily whispered in a voice thick with emotion;

"I can't risk that he'll hurt you"

"He won't" Felicity replied almost instantly, her hand slowly making it's way to graze the thick bristles on his cheek before walking away. Oliver rested his bow down, overly invested in pursuit of her, but she didn't go far. After three steps, Felicity turned to face them, her pained expression plain for them to see. She hesitated as she pulled at her skirt, smoothing the creases before backing up her statement.

"It's not me he wants"

Felicity watched intently as Oliver and Diggle exchanged glances, both of them opening their mouths to speak but neither finding the words. They both returned their gazes back towards her expectantly, awaiting an explanation. Oliver blinked in confusion, and reached for her, the contact making her pull away.

"Felicity I want to help you, to protect you but you have to be honest with me."

Felicity nodded and sat herself down on her orthopaedic chair, turning it away from her computers so that she faced her friends and in her own witty way responded the only way she could in that moment, her voice laced with sarcasm "Lets just say that the nightmares and an ungodly case of gonorrhoea weren't the only reminders of that night that he left me with"

When the words had tumbled freely from her mouth it took mere seconds for Diggle to make sense of the information.

"The girl at the park" Diggle stated, suddenly the pieces were falling into place. Felicity's eyes widened and she jumped from her seat her hands falling to her hips in an aggressive stance.

"John Diggle! You were at the park? You followed me?"

Diggle tried his best to hide behind Izzy while Oliver stepped forward placing his body between them. "Don't blame Diggle, I asked him to keep an eye on you. if you want to be mad. Be mad at me"

"You had me followed Oliver? How dare you?"

"Felicity, we were trying to make sure you were safe" Diggle offered "And besides after what I witnessed this morning, I would have followed you whether Oliver asked me to or not"

Felicity's scowl softened at Diggle's' words, understanding that the two men had her best interests at heart and as she spoke her tone became quieter "I know you both had good intentions but you have no right invading my privacy like that"

A deafening silence fell upon the foundry; the situation they had found themselves in, finally hitting home with them, the severity of the circumstance that crowded them suddenly becoming very apparent. Felicity eyed Oliver for a reaction; his face gave nothing away but his eyes betrayed him. Felicity had always been able to read him, she knew him better than anyone else and he loved her for it. She could see how this was hurting him and how he was struggling to remain calm and composed. It had taken an enormous amount of self restraint for him to have stayed this long and to not left with the sole purpose of making Jed pay. As Felicity stood nervously twiddling her fingers she silently prayed that this would not change things between them.

"What is she called?" Oliver asked in a voice no louder than a whisper. As he awaited her response he edged his way closer to her where she had sat back down, until he was squatting in front of her. He took her hands in his and watched with complete adoration as Felicity lifted her gaze to meet his.

"Nora. Her name is Nora"

"That's a beautiful name"

Felicity nodded "She lives on the edge of Starling City with Clarice and Eric her adoptive parents." Oliver nodded, linking his fingers with hers, absentmindedly playing with them nervously. Felicity choked on a sob before adding "I wanted to keep her, I did. I just, I was scared. I was scared that every time I looked at her I would be reminded of that night. It wouldn't have been fair to her"

Oliver fought to gain control of his emotions; anger at Jed for forcing Felicity to have to make that decision, admiration of how she coped, sympathy for the hurt she had suffered and everything in between.

"Felicity Smoak, what you did was selfless and the single most courageous thing I have ever witnessed. You are truly remarkable"

Felicity forced a smile as she wiped a few stray tears from behind her trademark spectacles.

"Thank you"

Diggle stood and placing Izzy in her bassinet, brought them back to the matter at hand. "How did you find Nora?"

"Two days after she was born, when she was adopted, I hacked the social services records."

Oliver smiled "That's my girl"

Felicity pushed a stray strand from her face before adding "I've been keeping an eye on her ever since. She has no idea who am I, none of them do"

"Could Jed do the same?" Diggle enquired

"I don't think so, I installed a pretty hefty firewall after I hacked it" Felicity assured him. As thoughts began to swamp her mind, she stood from her seated position and began to pace, her hands slipping from Oliver's, making her tingle at the lack of contact. As she moved from one side of the desk to the other she began thinking aloud "He must have hacked my hospital records though because he knew I had a girl. When I saw him in the parking garage earlier he said he wanted to see 'HER', but why, why would he suddenly have gone to the trouble of doing that?" Felicity questioned turning her attention to her computers, checking for any recent breaches in the hospitals firewall. After a few seconds she swung her around to face her team.

"Yep they've been hacked. But why would he do that unless he found out that I'd got pregnant. I don't know how he knew that I got pregnant though, nobody knew"

"How did no-one notice?" Diggle questioned, recalling all the changes that occurred within Lyla when she was pregnant with Izzy.

"I took a year out and came to Starling City, told everyone that I was going travelling. My mum didn't even know." A look of recognition spread across her face "Martha! she was the only one that could have known. She knew about Jed, and I did the pregnancy test in the dorm, maybe she found it."

Diggle shot her a look and a slight head bob that told her that her suggestion was plausible. Oliver remained silent, watching Felicity's every move, analysing every tilt of the head, every push of her glasses and every step she took. He watched every nervous smile, the way she kept smoothing her skirt and how every time she spoke she caught his eye just for a second, checking for his response. When Felicity's pacing ground to halt, Oliver narrowed the distance between them bringing his hand to caress her face. As he pushed a few strands of hair that had fallen loose from her hair tie behind her hear, his lips met hers. When they parted fa few seconds later, disturbed by Diggle's clearing of his throat, Oliver lingered a breath away before whispering "We won't let anything happen to her I promise"

Felicity nodded in gratitude, failing miserably to control the wealth of emotions his statement brought bubbling to the surface. Raising his voice a little louder and dancing his fingers from her face, down her shoulders and to her fingers he searched her eyes asking for her to be strong "Do you think you can tell all this to Captain Lance? Then perhaps he can pay Nora and her parents a visit and explain that we need to assign her some police protection until we find a way to get this son of bitch behind bars where he belongs"

Felicity nodded before falling into Oliver's embrace, emotionally drained the days events. Diggle moved to where Izzy slept soundly in her bassinet. Leaning over her he smiled watching her little chest rise and fall, completely unaware of the evil that thrived within their city. Brushing his hand across her velvety skin he turned to Oliver and Felicity

"I'll do it. Watch Nora I mean. It makes sense that it's one of us. Captain Lance can introduce me."

"Diggle you're needed here. Lyla and Izzy need you. Roy can do it."

"Roy can do what?" Roy questioned as he entered from the stair well above

"Diggle will fill you in" Oliver explained, taking Felicity hand in his as they left safety of the Foundry.

* * *

The drive to Big Belly burger had been unnervingly quiet. Oliver kept glancing at Felicity, taking his eyes off the road at every opportunity to assess her state of mind. As he moved his hand from the comfort of the gear stick to grasp hers, he noticed the tension, that had resulted in her stiffened posture, slowly ebb away. Felicity absentmindedly smiled at the connection before finding herself unable to subdue the sudden urge to clarify the status of her sexual health.

"Just so we are clear, I no longer have Gonorrhoea"

Oliver coughed, momentarily choking on his own tongue. As he straightened his steering, avoiding veering into oncoming traffic he squeezed her hand, and with a smile on his face replied " I know".

Felicity smoothed the body of her dress as she spoke "Good" after a brief pause she began to panic "No, I mean I'm not implying that you care, like you want to have sex. Although I mean you might want to have sex, I just don't know if you would want to have it with me. Oh god Felicity stop talking, 1..2...3"

Oliver laughed, somewhat relieved that she hadn't lost her ability to ramble given the days events. He would never tire of watching her ceremoniously try and shove her foot into her mouth.

"Felicity it's fine" He assured her "And just for the record, this "He gestured between them "This is it for me, and hence I'd be lying if I said i hadn't envisioned us taking that step"

"Hence?" She teased

"Yes hence?" He defended. Felicity's gaze met his, she sighed happily before turning to look out the window, assessing where they were in their journey; One more block to go she thought as Oliver cleared his throat beside her.

"Felicity?"

"Hmm?"

"You know there's no rush right? I can wait"

"I'm Fine Oliver"

Oliver didn't reply with words, only a raised eyebrow that had Felicity resorting to her loud voice.

"Oliver, I am no Victim I'm fine. I've had two very healthy sexual relationships since you know. Well it depends on what you classify as Healthy, but thats moot point because I'm fine"

Oliver relented "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I just don't want you to take that step until you're ready, no regrets, _If _you want to wait, I'll wait."

Felicity curled her fingers through his again, grateful for his understanding and support. Oliver averted his gaze back to the road allowing silence to surround them for the remainder of the journey.

As they pulled into the car park, Felicity spotted Captain Lance in a booth by the window, tucking into a piece of what looked like apple pie.

"Should he be eating that?" Felicity asked concerned, as she unbuckled herself from the car. Oliver shrugged as he stood, and stretched his legs before making his way to her side of the car, opening the door. As they walked the distance of the car park, Oliver found her hand, squeezing it gently hoping she would understand the sentiment behind it. Felicity breathed deeply drawing strength from the man beside her, knowing that without him she would not be able to do to talk to Captain Lance. As they reached the door, Felicity's free hand fell to the handle and she paused, turning to face the pillar of strength beside her. She averted her eyes to her feet, watching her ankle swivel nervously before whispering

"I want to have sex with you too"


End file.
